


Piece By Piece

by Phoebeus



Series: These Days We Celebrate [6]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!, Yu-Gi-Oh! Series
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Friendship, Hints of Revolution & Peach too, Humor, M/M, Pre-Puzzleshipping, Puzzleshipping, romantic or platonic at your discretion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-17
Updated: 2017-08-06
Packaged: 2018-12-03 06:34:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11526573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phoebeus/pseuds/Phoebeus
Summary: Yuugi and the other Yuugi play a game, someone forgot something, and everyone finds their own way to say ‘thank you’ in this little White Day tale.[Installment in "These Days We Celebrate" - A series focused on Yuugi & Yami no Yuugi's bond between the defeat of Pegasus and introduction of Otogi.]





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Music: [World 1 (After 120 Stars)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1twP3FdgsYw)

******:: Mar 11 - White Day ::**

“Jewel,” Yuugi mumbled into the roaring white noise around him, tearing his eyes off of a jewelry shop display to continue his trek down the crowded hallway. A number of people moved passed him as he went on his way, walking so close that their shoulders and arms bumped against his, nearly knocking him down more than once.

But at least no one slowed to shoot the teen looks for talking to himself. All of the customers were too focused on their own shopping to notice or care, and even if they _weren’t_ , it was far, far too loud in the underground mall. Yuugi couldn’t even hear _himself_.

Still, there was _one_ person who heard him.

Who answered.

_Lamb._

“Lamb?” Yuugi echoed, his eyebrows shooting up as he stepped off to the side of the foot traffic, leaning back against a shop window until his school bag pressed up against his spine. He flicked his gaze across the wide, sharply lit passage, searching for _what_ could have possibly prompted his other self’s reply.

His eyes quickly landed on a bookstore on his right, a couple shops down, and a display of novels featured in the front window.

There was one book right upfront, with a bunch of farm animals on the cover.

Yuugi smiled, and shifted his gaze to his left- to the see-through figure lingering at his side. The spirit stared right back at him, shot him a lingering, challenging sort of look… even as three people walked right through him.

Neither reacted.

Yuugi flicked his eyes to the books, and back to his other self, images and possibilities shooting through his brain like lightning until he finally found a retort and spit it out.

“Bus.”

His companion raised a brow in an exact mirror of Yuugi’s earlier expression, and turned back to the bookstore.

Yuugi didn’t follow his gaze. He much preferred to watch the light of understanding spark in his other’s eyes.

He grinned when it promptly appeared, fully aware of what the spirit saw.

The children’s book with a city bus on its cover, right next to the one with the animals.

 _Well enough_ , his other acknowledged, and an unheard, abstract timer ticked back to life as his crimson eyes skimmed the scene before them… and just as some arbitrary bell was about to go off, he blurted out a quick _Skirt_.

Yuugi followed his gaze, and was taken aback when he saw a girl walking out of a nearby treat shop, wearing the named article. “You picked someone’s clothing?” Okay yeah, it wasn’t like they had set a _rule_ against it or anything, but the pair had been playing their little game of on-sight _shiritori_ for the last ten minutes with the unsaid condition that they would only name things found in the _mall_.

A skirt they could find _anywhere_.

_I saw that shirt in a display window ten or so stores back._

“Oh, right…” Yuugi mumbled, but even as he accepted the defense - recalling the floral print - his gaze flicked across the young lady’s form. She _was_ really pretty, actually. Slim, with nice long legs under her short skirt. There was even a commendable curve to her backside, nicely displayed as she turned to call after someone still inside the sweet shop.

Yuugi gave her lower half a passing appreciative glance, only to slide his gaze up her back… to her top half.

“Top,” he said out loud, turning to the transparently amused spirit with a triumphant grin. “That shirt was on the same mannequin.”

 _So it was_ , the spirit confirmed, smiling right back with a tickled expression… before turning his attention back on the girl.

 _Purse_.

Yuugi blinked, flicking his gaze between the stranger’s back and his invisible friend. “Was her purse in the shop window, too?”

 _I’m sure she used whatever is in it to make a purchase in the shop_ , the other reasoned, earning a snort and head shake from the teen.

“That’s really pushing it, _mou hitori no boku_.”

 _Are you challenging my answer?_ the spirit asked, shooting him a smirk that practically _begged_ for an argument.

Yuugi just snickered. “Nah… I’ll let it go.” Right or wrong, chances were that his other self would use the delay of the game to think up three or four _other_ cruel words to throw at him later. And the disappointed hum at his refusal and calculating introspection on his other’s face all but confirmed his theory.

Yuugi met both with a knowing hum… turning back to the sweet shop the mystery woman had walked out of as the ‘timer’ ticked off in his head, restarted by his own concession.

And yeah, there was no _actual_ time limit he had to worry about… but, Yuugi still liked to think that there was just _one_ second left on the ‘clock’ when he finally smirked, turned back to his captivated company, and announced, “Eatery.”

The spirit’s already wide eyes widened a fraction further, vaguely cracking the steady stillness of his game face.

And no surprise, either, since Yuugi had just thrown a dreaded _Y_ at him.

Even a Z would have been kinder, Yuugi mused mercilessly, since his other self could have easily pointed out a _zipper_ somewhere.

But he should have known better than to hope for a surrender, for the very moment the spirit looked up and across the hallway? He snapped out a rebuttal.

_Yogurt!_

“Wha-” Yuugi turned around, only to grimace as some guy walked out of the sweet shop and handed that girl the frozen treat. “Oh, you and your luck!!”

The spirit had the audacity to laugh, though the smirk he shot him was more fond than taunting. _Well, aibou_?

“Right, right…” Yuugi sighed, looking idly about him for some new word to string along the game… eventually just on looking at the floor below them, with its divided up bits of marble. “Tiles.”

_Getting a little bored, are we?_

Yuugi looked back up with narrowed eyes, easily picking up the teasing ‘lazy’ the spirit did not say.

He pulled away from the wall rather than answer, slipping back into the crowd and dodging elbows as he again emphasized, “ _Tiles_.”

His other self snorted, flitting his gaze across the hall… as Yuugi himself was, already rushing to take in every feature of the shops he passed for potential comebacks.

 _Shoes_ , the spirit settled on after a breath, and when Yuugi looked over - expecting to follow his other self’s gaze to some shoe shop or something - he realized the other him was staring at _his_ boots.

Yuugi shook his head, sniffing with a smile. “Those _definitely_ didn’t come from the mall.”

_They’re inside it, though._

“Everything here is inside it.”

_Then I suppose everything inside it counts, wouldn’t you say?_

“I suppose so,” Yuugi hummed, shooting his smirking other self a calculating look… before honing in on something around his neck. "Studs."

The other Yuugi fingered the collar they both wore, before shifting his gaze over his partner in turn.

 _Shoulder_.

It was lucky that the spirit was ‘walking’ _beside_ him, or else it wouldn’t have been visible, or an option.

But it was, and Yuugi skimmed his gaze over it before facing forward with a mischievous grin. 

“Rump.”

A girl walking passed the other way stuttered in her step and glared at him, making him blush as he purposely focused his eyes forward and kept walking.

Embarrassing… but totally worth it, Yuugi decided.

Because the spirit _wasn’t_ walking beside him.

He hadn’t moved since Yuugi made his play, and when the teen looked back over his shoulder, he saw his other self still standing there, stock still with eyes stuck wide as he stared after him.

Yuugi could feel the confused, wondering shock rolling off of him in waves.

A couple of people walked right through the spirit, but neither moved, or ‘broke’ their gaze.

Not until Yuugi cocked a brow at him, and asked, “You’re not going to say you don’t have one, are you?” to break the tension. “Because transparent or not, I can see it.”

Crimson orbs blinked, but a daze still lingered in them as the spirit struggled to recover, eyes flicking wildly over Yuugi’s body until they settled at about hip level. _I could argue against that_.

“Are you?”

… _No_ , he decided, lips twitching with dizzy humor as he said, _Pocket_.

Yuugi’s hand moved impulsively to his side, fingers sliding into the named part of his pants as he argued, more to break the weird tension between them than to really protest. “You can’t _see_ my pocket, you know.”

The spirit’s form shuddered slightly with a chuckle, but he still did not raise his eyes. _No, but I can see the opening of it._

“Hmm, I don’t know. We’ve been pretty strict about the rules so far,” Yuugi quipped, grinning with warm, oddly relieved success as his companion broke out in a proper laugh.

Yuugi didn’t join him. He just looked on, dazed eyes caught on his other self’s mouth, twisted with humor… until the fog seeped too deep into the boy's brain, and he blurted out “Teeth!” with the snap of a knee spasming just on the edge of sleep.

The spirit quieted, blinked at Yuugi in languid surprise… before finally replying with a slow, easy comeback of _Heart_.

Yuugi blinked back… and felt his face warm as his other self’s gaze shifted down towards his chest. “Okay, you _definitely_ can’t see my heart.”

Not literally, at least.

Red eyes rose again to meet his as the spirit shot him a most curious look, something between thoughtful and amused. _I meant on the sign over there, aibou. At the store._

“Huh?” Yuugi shifted around, stumbling to avoid a couple people passing by, until he finally caught sight of a shop with a bunch of white hearts pasted on the display window. “Oh…” Understanding made his face warm with embarrassment, and he shook his head, trying to clear away the strange cobwebs that had gathered between his ears. “Of course, sorry! We must have passed dozens of hearts on the way here, and somehow I didn’t even think… Wait-” Yuugi started, realizing once he had collected himself that he had forgotten something important.

Damnit!

 _What is it?_ the spirit ask, sliding up right beside him with a heavy, concerned frown, as though he had somehow heard that inner curse.

Perhaps he had.

“Ah, I just forgot to think up the next word,” Yuugi explained, looking around him in an impulsive effort to finish the turn he had let slip by.

There was a business wear shop nearby… he could have said ‘tie’.

 _You could still go_ , the other him replied, a weird sort of hesitant hope marking his voice, but Yuugi just shook his head.

“No. I know we never set any rules, but I still lost my focus. If that’s not a loss, I don’t know what is.” Yuugi shot the spirit an apologetic smile for dropping the ball, and insisting on the point to boot… vaguely sad that he had disrupted the game, and their fun.

It was hard to hold onto any heavy feeling, though, when his other self looked at him like that, all relaxed and indulgent-like. _I commend your showmanship… Would you like to call that a ‘point’ for me then, and start a new round?_

Yuugi chuckled, shaking his head. “Nah… I’d like to, but funnily enough, _that’s_ the shop I was looking for.” He nodded at the shop with the white hearts in the window, prompting the spirit to turn with him and look _beyond_ the glass and decorations.

There were a bunch of pots and pans on display there.

Yuugi pulled his backpack a little higher up his back as he moved for the door, the other him still there at his shoulder as he explained, “They’re supposed to have twenty percent off all houseware stuff until White Day.”

 _Ah, your white gift for your mother_.

“Yup,” Yuugi replied simply, only to snap his mouth shut when a shop clerk turned and shot him a confused frown.

He would have to remember to lower his voice if he wanted to talk to the spirit beyond the shielding roar of the hallway…

Cutting off their conversation at least prompted him to focus, though. After a mere few minutes of looking around, inspecting prices and trading opinions with the other him via glances and shrugs, nods and thumbs up, Yuugi walked out of the store with a crisp new pair of white oven mitts, and a triumphant smile on both of their faces.

Finding something for his _other_ major recipient didn’t prove so easy, though.

Yuugi had already found a huge pack of white chocolate bars back at his local corner store, and he knew he could break that up for the girls who gave him mandatory chocolates last month in class. But, Anzu had gone out of her way to give him and his other self a great big box on Valentine’s! So, he couldn’t just go and give her the same thing as the rest of the girls!

And while he actually had a fairly good idea _what_ he wanted to buy, he just couldn’t _find_ it!

He went from shop to shop, searching… and he had run through at least a dozen of them by the time the other him spoke up, cutting through his latest sigh.

_Isn’t that a sporting goods store?_

“Huh?” Yuugi turned around mid-step, swerving around a startled older lady in his effort to see…

Yes!

“Oh, _please_ have one in white,” he breathed, breaking into a sprint, shifting and shouldering his way through the crowd and the shop door.

Ten minutes later, Yuugi stepped back into the hall, holding up a bag with a loud, triumphant whoop. “I found it!!” he cried, the announcement completely needless since the only one present who _wouldn’t_ glower at his disruption already knew.

 _Congratulations_ , the spirit said anyways, grinning down at him from where he sat, floating in the air a couple feet over Yuugi’s shoulder. _Does that mean you found everything?_

“Yup, that’s it! Aaa, we can finally get out of here and head home… I wonder how late it is.” He still had some homework to do, after all, and if he was _too_ late, his mother would be mad he had delayed dinner.

He could probably fix that with a not-so-subtle hint about what he had been _buying_ , but still…

_…Aibou?_

“Huh?” Yuugi asked, glancing up at the spirit… slowly stalling his steps as he took in the hesitant frown on the other’s face. “What is it?”

_I was… wondering if I could borrow your body._

Yuugi blinked, shocked.

It… wasn’t like it was _unheard of_ , his other self asking for use of their body. Even if there was no game to play, or threat to face, sometimes the spirit just wanted ‘a moment alone’ to gather his thoughts outside of the Puzzle. But it had been _months_ since he last requested that. Why, if Yuugi remembered right, the last time had been before the _island_ , and Pegasus’s tournament!

He had… if the spirit had something on his mind, he usually just shared it with Yuugi nowadays.

 _I would like to go buy something_ , the other him explained, looking soundly uncomfortable as he frowned down at Yuugi. _And I know I’ll have to borrow some money to do it, but I’d be happy to work in the shop in your place and pay you back-_

“Of course,” Yuugi interrupted, grinning up at him as the truth finally dawned on him. “Don’t even worry about that! You’re going to look for something for Anzu-chan, right? To thank her, too?”

The spirit shifted in the air, crossing one leg over the other as he looked away, across the hall and over Yuugi’s head. _Yes… it might take a while, though, and I don’t want you to get in trouble for being late. If you want to get back home-_

“Nah, it’s okay,” Yuugi assured, beaming up around the dank stillness of mind understanding had gifted him. “I already thought of something I can tell Mama, so don’t worry about that. But if you don’t know what you want to get her, do you want me help-”

 _No!_ the spirit snapped, making them _both_ jump at his outburst… and he didn’t blush, but the embarrassment in his other self’s eyes was as plain as day as Yuugi looked up at him. _I would… rather look alone, if you don’t mind. On my own?_

Yuugi quirked a brow, saying nothing… watched the other him go completely still with an obvious urge to fidget.

What… _exactly_ was his other so self-conscious about?

The possibilities ran through his head and then gathered back together, branching off in two sound, viable directions.

Either the other him was sincerely embarrassed about the very personal act of picking out a special gift for their mutual friend, and what _that_ could symbolize… or he was up to something, and trying to hide it.

And they both knew how bad he was at hiding things.

Yuugi watched the spirit watch him, and was tempted to inquire, question… but he fought back the urge.

The other him was entitled to his secrets. And anyways, if it was _either_ possibility Yuugi was thinking of?

It was better he didn’t ask.

“Okay, but if you need anything, you just call me, okay?”

 _Right_ , the spirit breathed, voice catching with startled relief… and then he had moved.

Yuugi was gone, and the other Yuugi was there, alone among the crowd, breathing through borrowed lungs.

The young, ancient man shook his head and blinked through the shock of sudden corporeality, then looked down… raised a hand and pressed it against his chest- right over the heart that held his hidden partner.

He held still, feeling it beat… then sighed, dropping the hand.

He turned and wormed his way through the crowd, making a confident beeline for one of the shops he and Yuugi had searched before finding the sporting goods place.

He already knew exactly what he wanted.

As such, he was in and out of the accessories shop in under five minutes… but as he stepped back out into the hall, another bag in hand, he did not call out to his partner to tell him he was done. He just walked on, and slipped into _another_ shop. One nearby, that they had not visited at all that day, but both knew well from previous shopping trips.

Again the other Yuugi was no more than a few minutes. He just had to find what he was looking for, and pay for it.

And this time as he left, he headed for the station.

Got on a train, rode it himself, and returned home, still alone…

Because there was still one more thing he had to do.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are! The second half (two-thirds, really) of the White Day story! 
> 
> A big thank you to [Katynoctis](http://katyanoctis.tumblr.com/) for editing this, as she so often sweetly does, and to [spiritualpuzzleshipper](https://spiritualpuzzleshipper.tumblr.com/) whose BIRTHDAY IT IS! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! She really encouraged me to make this the best it could be in honor of the day. :) Oh, and of course, thank you to all of the reviewers!! I have become the worst at replying in my aim to keep the weekly updates coming (*smallest violin playing in the background*) but I see and love every one of them!! And hopefully one of these days soon I'll have an in-house vacation week where I can just go to town on replying to them all. x3
> 
> Anyways, I hope you like this one! This story is... why this series exists, to a big degree. So I hope you enjoy it as much I enjoyed writing it.
> 
> Chapter Music: [Love Like You, Instrumental](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pdrviOzFVc)

**:: Mar 14 - White Day ::**

“ _Yuugi_.”

Yuugi stalled in the middle of putting up his sneakers, and looked over his shoulder. He had known the voice instantly, and grinned as he saw his friend… but uncertainty marred his cheer as he took in the blond’s mysteriously serious face.

Had something happened?

“Morning, Jounouchi-kun!” he greeted all the same, turning his back on his shoe locker to face him properly. “Is… everything okay? It looks like you made it in time for class, but it-”

“Never mind that!” the blond snapped, the desperate dread behind his glower making Yuugi shut his mouth and stare, fully tensed.

Somewhere under his skin and within the Puzzle, the spirit stirred and grew alert.

Did Yuugi need him?

Yuugi shot back a cursory, wordless response.

Stand by.

Because there was certainly _something_ in Jounouchi’s jerky glances at the other students, walking passed on their way to class. But when he finally stopped dragging out the moment, and leaned in towards Yuugi’s face? He whispered, “I just… It’s not the _fourteenth_ , is it?”

Yuugi blinked, he and his other self… settling into a mutual shock.

“It’s _not_ , right? That’s not ‘til next week, right? I could’ve sworn–”

“Yeah, it’s the fourteenth,” Yuugi interrupted, watching his best friend flinch with a milder form of concern and far more confusion. “Why do you ask?”

“ _Shit!_ ” the blond hissed, scratching the back of his head violently as he stood up straight and glared back at the school lawn and entrance. “I saw guys walking in holding some bags and white-wrapped stuff, so I was afraid… It’s _seriously_ the fourteenth?”

_Ah._

A silent, yet somehow rich chuckle echoed Yuugi’s own realization, and his own wary little smile turned into a proper grin at the sound, even as he looked up at Jounouchi with sympathy. “Afraid it is. Did you forget about bringing White Day stuff for the girls?”

Jounouchi flinched, and stared at Yuugi like he had just kicked his puppy.

 _That would be a yes_.

 _Apparently_ , Yuugi agreed, only to shake his head– and reach into his backpack to pull out the small knot bag his mother had loaned him for the day.

“You want to split my supply?” he asked, opening the fabric sack up to show his startled, but attentive friend the contents. “I bound up three candy bars for each of the girls, but I could probably slide out the middle ones without messing up the ties! Then you could give them those.”

 _Quick thinking_ , his other admired, bolstering Yuugi’s ease in the offer even as he watched grateful relief splash across Jounouchi’s face.

…But then that expression withered, and Jounouchi shook his head with a hard, faraway look.

“No. _Thanks_ , Yuugi, that’s an awesome idea, and means a lot-” he assured, cutting through Yuugi’s doubts before they could even take root. “But I can’t go taking your chocolates. I have to fix this myself.” He said it like the thought was occurring to him in the moment, but there was still a firm, settled glint in his eyes as he frowned at nothing… before he suddenly broke out in a grin and properly focused on Yuugi. “I have to go do something, so see you later!”

“But… we have class? Wait, Jounouchi-kun!” Yuugi called as the blond ran off down the hall, never looking back.

Yuugi was left alone by his locker, with only one unseen soul for company.

_Do you think he’ll be okay?_

_Of course, aibou. You know Jounouchi. He’ll figure something out, and he has most of the school day to do it._

_I was thinking more about the hall monitor_ , Yuugi countered dryly, rolling his eyes at the spirit’s laugh as he turned for the main stairwell.

But _seriously_ , what was Jounouchi going to do?

* * *

“Happy White Day!”

“What is… Bakura-kun!” Yuugi started, gawking at the white cardboard box suddenly dropped on his desk. “What’s this?!”

_I think it is a white day present._

_I know_ **_that_** _! I meant, what’s he doing giving me one?!_

Bakura grinned on, unaware of the exchange happening right before his eyes as he stared singlemindedly at Yuugi, expectation clear in his gaze. “You’re supposed to open it.”

Yuugi flushed, caught between the good-natured tease in his friend’s voice and the spirit’s laugh echoing in his ears.

He shook his head to clear his mind of both, opened the box without another word– and grinned. “These look awesome!” he praised, pulling out and holding up one of the many white frosted sugar cookies. “You made these, didn’t you? And they’re shaped, too! But, why’d you pick a star shape?” Had Bakura been thinking of the tournament on Pegasus’s island, just like Yuugi when he made Jounouchi’s treats for Valentine’s Day? Or, maybe it was just a random shape Bakura picked to avoid the more traditional but _romantic_ heart?

“They reminded me of you, actually.” Bakura motioned vaguely at his head, laughing lightly. “You know, the hair?”

“ _Oh_.” Yuugi reached up, scratching his fingers through his loose, stubborn spikes with a self-conscious grin. “I never would have thought of that–”

“Yuugi!”

“Huh– _Huh_?!” Yuugi started again, only to give a yelp when he found a giant bag dropped onto his lap.

A giant bag of… equally giant marshmallows.

“I couldn’t think of anything I should chance cooking,” someone grumbled at his shoulder, and Yuugi looked up to find Honda there, his hands stuffed in his pockets as he glowered at the whiteboard. “And my sister was out of town and couldn’t help, so– here.”

“My, that has to be at least two pounds!” Bakura marveled, recovering from his shock faster than Yuugi and shooting the gifter a smile. “Congrats, Honda-kun! You’ve definitely outdone me, that’s for certain!”

Honda snorted and kept his gaze pointed elsewhere, but a smile pulled quite obviously at his mouth.

Yuugi, though, could only stutter.

“This is– this is really nice, guys, but I told you! My mom set up making those chocolates! You don’t have to give me stuff!” He had _specifically_ said so last week, when Bakura mentioned him in his cooking plans for the weekend! And he had thought he had convinced them all that it wouldn’t be worth the renewed risk of _weird rumors at school_ to give him anything!

But Bakura only shook his head, his grin untouched and untroubled. “Sorry, Yuugi-kun. We got chocolates from you, so you’re getting white gifts. You can share my cookies with your mother, if you like, but I’m afraid you’re just going to have to accept what we give you. Isn’t that right, Honda-kun?”

Honda gave a ‘hmph’ of a sound. It was probably an agreement.

And Yuugi realized as he looked between that obscure smile and those dodging eyes that he… wasn’t going to get anywhere with either of them.

To stifle his own protests, he worked his arms around the giant marshmallow pack and stuffed the cookie into his mouth, then immediately broke into the bag and crammed three of the white fluffy sweets in after it.

“...I’s delishishious,” he mumbled between bites, earning a laugh from Bakura and an amused smirk from Honda.

Someone snickered, and Yuugi looked up, expecting to see one of his classmates sneaking a peek at them.

Instead he discovered his other self, smiling down at him from his perch on the far side of his desk.

Yuugi’s face flushed at the glint of amused satisfaction in those red eyes, and he instantly broke their gaze to glower out the class window.

 _Oh,_ **_hush_** _._

_I didn’t say anything, aibou._

_Well, cut it out._

_I’ll see what I can do._

Yuugi snorted, but that tickly restless feeling went right on swimming in his gut… until Honda spoke up and distracted him.

“Well, we got you your thank you gifts, so, Happy White Day and all. But I know that won’t fit in your bag, so give it here– I’ll stick the marshmallows and cookies in your locker for you. Come on, Bakura! Give me a hand with this.”

“Of course.”

“What? It… what?” Yuugi repeated as Honda snatched the giant bag from his lap and carried it off, a smiling Bakura coming up behind him to pluck the cardboard box from Yuugi’s desk.

“Just sit tight. Lunch is over in a few minutes, so she’ll be back any moment with _her_ gift.”

“What do you… she who?” Yuugi asked, but it was no use. Bakura was walking off even as he asked, leaving him alone at his desk.

The fact he could have _followed_ them occurred to him exactly three seconds after they left the room, but Yuugi didn’t move. Just looked up at the thoughtful, watching spirit.

_Do you think he meant Anzu-chan?_

_Most likely. It’s White Day, not Valentine’s Day, so it’s unlikely some_ **_other_ ** _girl would come up to you with chocolates or a gift and a confession._

 _Heh, that’s a laugh_ , Yuugi mused back, earning a mild scowl of disapproval from his other self– that he barely registered around his belated awareness of the spirit’s words. He was too busy turning beet red and glaring up at _him_ to take a lecture. _And there’s not going to be a_ **_confession_** _, mou hitori no boku! Anzu-chan or otherwise!_

“Yuugi-kun?”

He hiccuped.

Embarrassment itched under his cheeks as he turned to see a smiling Anzu, there at his shoulder. He tried to cover his thrown nerves with a wide, steady grin. “Welcome back, Anzu-chan! Where did you go during lunch?”

_Good save there, aibou. You can do this!_

_Are you… teasing me, or actually encouraging me?_

_Can’t it be both?_

_No, it_ **_can’t_** _. …And I told you! I’m not_ **_doing_ ** _anything!_

“Oh, I was just putting away the gift-back chocolates the guys handed out before class this morning,” Anzu explained, grabbing her chair and pulling it up beside Yuugi, sighing and resting her arms on his desk as soon as she sat down. “I have to say, I would have been mad if one of them skipped the return gift, but there really _is_ a lot of it… I’m not sure how I’m going to take most of it home, and the teachers said we can’t leave them in our desk or lockers tonight, but I don’t want to throw any of it away.”

_Score!!_

_Bravo, aibou! You really did pick the perfect gift!_

The praise made Yuugi grin as he reached into his backpack and pulled something out. “Well, I might have something that can help with that! Here– Happy White Day!”

“Oh wow, Yuugi-kun!” Anzu beamed as she took the gift, recognizing it for what it was and instantly unzipping and unfolding it. “How did you know?!”

“Just lucky, I guess,” Yuugi mused, watching his friend shake out the white duffel bag with a satisfied eye. “I thought you could use it for your practice stuff for ballet class, but you could put chocolates in it, too.”

“It’s perfect, thank you.” Her expression softened as she stopped inspecting the bag to shoot him a pleased, easy smile… which Yuugi mirrored before finally shaking his head and speaking up.

“You’re welcome! But I’m not the only one who got you something, you know.”

“Wh-” Anzu started, her cheeks pinking prettily as she tensed.

And the quiet complacency that had been humming in the back of Yuugi’s mind suddenly strummed into disturbed life.

_Aibou? Are you–_

Yuugi ignored the voice, winking at Anzu. “Just a sec.” _Go ahead, mou hitori no boku!_

A single blink later, and Yuugi was the one perched on the desk, and the _other_ Yuugi was the one sitting by the blushing Anzu.

The now-visible spirit didn’t even jump, though. He just shot Yuugi a flat look out of the corner of his eye. _That was a little predictable, aibou_.

Yuugi snorted, crossing his legs in a conscious imitation of his other self’s manner. _Sorry, I’ll try to make it a little more surprising next time. Now, pay attention! Anzu’s looking at you!_

And the other Yuugi looked obediently to his right, meeting Anzu’s wide eyes with an easy, prepared grin. “Check the front side pocket of that bag, and take out what you find.”

“W-what? Oh,” Anzu stumbled, too thrown by the bypass of any real greeting to question or protest. She just did as he bid, unzipping the named pocket and pulling out the contents after a short, hesitant look inside.

The tension visibly seeped out of her as the item came out, and she recognized it for what it was. “Oh! This is–”

“I know it’s warmed up early this year,” the spirit admitted as Anzu straightened the long white scarf out in her hands, folding it to get a better look at the English letter _A_ sewn in gold thread on one end. “But I thought you could at least get a week or two’s use out of it– and then bring it back out next year.”

_Wow. What made you pick a scarf, mou hitori no boku?_

_I just saw it in one of the stores you went through during your own search for her gift._

_Ah, I see… So you saw it, and thought of her._

_…I’m not sure what you mean by that tone, aibou._

_That’s fine, mou hitori no boku. That’s_ **_just_ ** _fine…_ Yuugi assured, grinning contentedly at the scene before him. Anzu, staring at the scarf, visibly struggling for something to say, and his other self, patiently looking on, and keeping his gaze politely set on their friend. _You… want me to leave you two alone?_

 _We’re in the middle of the classroom. I hardly see how you could consider us_ **_alone_** _, with or without you._

_Heh, fair enough._

The spirit nodded Yuugi’s head minutely… only to narrow his eyes and shoot his partner the subtlest of looks. _And why would we want to be alone, anyways?_

Yuugi didn’t even deem that worthy of an answer. He just turned to the window with a laugh he kept buried deep in his belly.

At least when his other self showered _him_ with encouragement, Yuugi had the decency to understand his meaning.

“I love it,” Anzu finally managed, drawing both of their gazes. But all she followed it up with was a quick look up, a nervous smile, and a quiet, “I’ll treasure it.”

So the spirit just smiled and nodded back. “I’m glad.”

And Yuugi just shook his head. _These two…_

_We two, what?_

_Nothing. I was just talking to myself._

_Well, I_ **_am_ ** _you, remember?_

_Funny._

“But um, I have something for you, too!” Anzu suddenly said, sitting straight up in her chair and shuffling around for something in her skirt pocket.

And the other Yuugi just blinked. “But, _aibou_ was the one who made you chocolates. I just watched.”

**_Hey!_** _You taste tested some of it!_

_No, you_ **_had_ ** _me taste test some of it, remember? And how did that turn out?_

_…I’m still going to get you back for that one, you know._

_Ah, so you’re going to surprise me_ **_and_ ** _get back at me._

_Don’t sound so doubting, mou hitori no boku, or I’ll consider it war._

_Of course… my apologies._

“O-oh,” Anzu finally managed, making both Yuugis start as they realized they had been ignoring the girl in their banter. “Well… can I speak to… _him_ , then?”

The other Yuugi fell into an easy smile within a second’s breath. “Of course.” _That’s your cue!_

Yuugi just shook his head, and then he was back in his own body, grinning up at Anzu, waiting to accept a gift she had intended for his other self… the exact scenario he had feared a month ago.

Irony was apparently a dish best served cold.

But as soon as Anzu pulled out the little unwrapped gift, there was no need for Yuugi to force a smile.

He was quite honestly gawking.

“I managed to find these in white, so I thought–”

“A Tamagotchi!” Yuugi cried out, drawing quite a few glances but not a single care as he accepted the egg-shaped game and oogled at the little digital screen. “And it’s the Morino version that just came out… I thought these were completely sold out!”

“Haha, the sales guy _did_ tell me I was getting a couple of the last ones,” Anzu acknowledged, grinning as she pulled out a second, identical egg from her pocket. “I was going to give you both, but that was when I thought you and the other Yuugi both gave me those chocolates.”

Yuugi froze, his eyes going wide as guilt struck his gut.

Not only had Anzu _not_ intended for her gift to be solely for the other him… the spirit wasn’t going to get his own game now!

“W… would you… um,” Yuugi struggled to ask, mind racing desperately for an answer. “Would you… maybe… could you tell me where you bought them?”

_Aibou, I don’t need one. Don’t worry about it._

_But if I had stepped in and_ **_said_ ** _you helped me, you would be getting_ **_that_ ** _one! I cost you your gift!_

_That is not your fault!_

_Yes it–_

“Here.”

Yuugi blinked, his mind falling mutually silent as he looked down… at the second Tamagotchi.

Being offered by a smiling Anzu.

“You’re… giving me both?”

“Yes, Yuugi-kun. I am giving _you_ both,” she emphasized, winking at her friend with a scheming grin that Yuugi slowly, but soundly returned. “And since they belong to you, you can do whatever you like with them.”

Like, for instance, gift one of them to someone _very close_ to him.

She didn’t _say_ that, but it was there in the smile they shared.

The spirit sighed. _You do know I can hear and see all of this, right?_

_What? She’s letting me have both! And I can do what I like with them… and you wouldn’t be so mean as to reject one if I offered it to you, right?_

_…That is low, aibou._

_**War** , mou hitori no boku. _

“Thank you, Anzu-chan,” Yuugi said, reaching out for the second game and shooting her a soft look that must have embarrassed her, because her face shone just a little pinker. “I’ll take good care of them.”

“Of course…”

“Hey, Yuugi!!”

“–Jounouchi-kun?” Yuugi said, jerking his hand back from Anzu’s as they turned to face the door.

Indeed, his best friend was rushing through the classroom door and making a straight run at them, waving something over his head. “I got them! I had to sneak into the teacher's office to use the laminator, but I got them!”

“You’ve got _what_?” Anzu asked, a vague irritation tugging at her expression as she looked up at the blond.

He just shook his head at her, though, satisfaction radiating off of him as he presented his prize to his best friend. “Here, man! Happy White Day!”

“Huh? What is…” Yuugi started, only to trail off into a wide-eyed stupor as he accepted the two small pieces of laminated paper and recognized them for what they were. “D-duel monster cards?”

Within him, the mild curiosity of his other spiked into attentive life.

“You got it!” Jounouchi answered, giving him a grin that Yuugi barely registered in his shock. “Two custom Duel Monster cards, made just for you!”

“How did you manage that?” Anzu asked, leaning over Yuugi’s shoulder and squinting at the pair of cards. “Did you photocopy a couple of spells or something?”

“What? Was I supposed to _hand draw_ the backs? I don’t have that kind of skill!”

“You tried to draw the front just… fine.”

It was true. While the back and the frame on the front of the cards had clearly come from an existing spell card, the boxes that would have shown the card name, image, and text rules had been covered over with something. Likely light green stock paper, taped on before the card was copied and laminated.

On the first card, the text box was still empty, but the image box featured a crudely hand drawn picture of… hands? Folded over each other? And there was something on the back of the hands, too, but Yuugi gave up trying to comprehend it and focused on reading the card’s _name_ instead. “Unity?”

“Yeah! Oh– wait, that’s the one I was going to let _you_ pick the effect for. Look at the other one!”

Yuugi shot Jounouchi a quick, questioning look, then flipped the cards around to read the second one.

That one was called "Friendship" and a clearer but still rough image of a simple handshake stood as the image.

But, the _textbox_ …

“Offer your opponent a handshake,” Yuugi read out loud, for Anzu’s benefit as much as his other self’s. “If they accept your handshake, each player's Life Points become half the combined Life Points of both players. If you have "Unity" in your hand and show it to your opponent, they must accept the handshake.”

“What… how are you supposed to share a handshake from across a duel ring?” Anzu asked, squinting down at the card.

“What– Yuugi and I don’t use duel rings!” Jounouchi snapped, glowering at her for a short second before grinning back at Yuugi. “And this is just for me and him, so that doesn’t matter! The point is it’s an extra special card meant just for Yuugi, because for _us_ , dueling is about being friends!”

Anzu didn’t say anything, and Yuugi would like to think that she approved, and was smiling.

But he didn’t check. _Couldn’t_ check, because he was too busy struggling to straighten out a shocked joy that ran through him and radiated off of his other self, the two emotions smashing and tangling up inside of Yuugi until he was fit to bursting.

“Jounouchi-kun… these are–!!” He finally managed, beaming up with enough gratitude for the both of them. “ _Thank you_!”

His best friend smiled, and shot him a thumbs up. “Anytime, Yuugi.”

* * *

_Select one monster on your side of the field. The defense of the selected monster becomes equal to the combined original defense of all face-up monsters on your side of the field until the end of the turn… I like it, aibou._

“Thanks!” Yuugi chirped, smiling down at the finished text as he snapped his marker shut and set it down on his bedroom desk beside the card. “It’s just a loose, more general flip of the effect of United We Stand, but I thought it would be helpful, without overwhelming the game.”

_It still requires you to consider the field when you play it, so it should not tip the scales unfairly… I am still surprised, though, that Jounouchi thought of such a good gift._

“Yeah,” Yuugi sighed, sitting back in his chair to consider his desk as a whole– the two cards side-by-side, the two Tamagotchi eggs, the cardboard box from Bakura… The marshmallow bag was too big to set on the desk, but the bag sat right at his knee, already open, and Yuugi reached down to fish out a couple more of the giant fluffs. “Still, it’s too bad that he was so focused on that, that he forgot to get something for the other girls. Those last three looked ready to _murder_ him when he handed them those paper I.O.U. notes,” he recalled, grimacing as he popped the marshmallows into his mouth.

_He will make it up to them on Monday, and I would hope he doesn’t regret focusing on these in the meantime. They’re a perfect gift… It’s a little daunting, though, having to follow after him._

Yuugi paused mid-chew, mind racing to comprehend his meaning… and then he smiled.

He _knew_ it.

“Where’d you hide it?”

_Under the extra bedsheets in your dresser._

He shook with a laugh as he stood, moving over to the named furniture without a word. He has suspected his other self had tucked _something_ away for him ever since that night in the mall, when his other came all the way home on his own and didn’t call Yuugi back out of the Puzzle until they were inside the house.

But he had to say, it was ballsy of the spirit to hide whatever it was _in his bedroom for three days, right under his nose_.

“Relying on quite a lot of luck there,” he mused as he opened the bottom drawer and started rifling through the linens. “What if Mama decided to rearrange things or do the laundry early this weekend, or I spilt something on my bed?”

_Not possible. I believed you weren’t meant to find them until today, so you didn’t._

Yuugi snorted at the flat simplicity of that thought– then fell silent as his hand found a plastic bag. He pulled it out into the open, inspected the logo of a familiar game store on the side, then peeked inside.

And beamed.

“Hey!”

 _I’m sorry I did not wrap it. I did not think about that until after I left the mall_ , the spirit immediately apologized, but Yuugi just shook his head and looked over his shoulder– focusing on the transparent figure that had popped up in his chair while his back was turned.

“Don’t be sorry, this is awesome! I can’t believe you thought to do this… I haven’t been able to play this since that storm fried my old one last year!” he exclaimed as he moved to the bed, emptying the bag out so that he could get a good look at the contents.

A used but fairly well preserved SNES game system, two matching white controllers, and–

He blinked, and picked up the game box that toppled out after the hardware, reading the well remembered cover. “Super Mario World?”

_Yes, your mother let Jii-chan sell your old games after you lost the system, right?_

“ _Right_ ,” Yuugi breathed, grimacing around the painful memory. “I can’t believe she did that… she said she put the money we got from them into my college funds, but still. I wonder if I could get some of it back, now that I have a system to play them on… But,” he started, blinking over his shoulder. “What made you pick Super Mario World?”

The lounging, laidback spirit suddenly jerked to attention, turning his gaze on the skylight and shifting needlessly in a chair he surely couldn’t feel. _I… would have preferred Super Mario All Stars, but the store didn’t have it in stock, and I wanted a game that we could share and both play._

Yuugi’s curious eyes widened slightly as he realized, “Mario games are two-player, but you play back-to-back, not at the same time… We can play this together.” The spirit nodded, didn’t look at him, but Yuugi grinned at him all the same, willing him to meet his smile. “That’s a great idea, _mou hitori no boku_!”

Even in profile, Yuugi could see his other self’s mouth twitching. _I’m glad you like it… but you missed part of the gift,_ the spirit said, finally turning back to him with a strange, wary, yet warm sort of light in his eye. _There’s more in the drawer._

“Huh?”

The other Yuugi just smiled and tipped his chin towards the dresser.

Yuugi shifted his eyes back and forth between the furniture and spirit, but finally set aside his gift and returned to the open drawer.

It wasn’t hard to find. It was buried under another set of sheets, and as he pulled it out, Yuugi realized that whatever it was was wrapped in another game store plastic bag, the straps tied together to keep the contents inside.

_Careful, aibou. If you open it while standing up, the pieces might fall out and get lost._

“Pieces? So, this is a game of some sort? Or a p–” Yuugi started, only to fall silent with a choke after he sat down on carpet, untied the bag, and overturned it to discover…

…

“ _Mou… mou hitori no boku_ ,” he finally managed, each syllable strangled in his tight throat as he struggled to comprehend it– the white, scribbled-on puzzle pieces, and the square white frame they clearly fit into. “T-this is… is _this_ – _That_ puzzle?!”

The blank _love letter_ puzzle his grandfather sold in his shop?!

 _You remember it then?_ the spirit asked by way of answer, and when Yuugi tore his eyes off of the gift, he discovered his other self there, frowning down at him from his chair, clear, hesitant confusion shining in his red eyes. _Is… there something wrong with it?_

Yuugi’s face _burnt_ as he mouthed for words that would not come. Not until he forced them out with a jerky wave at the puzzle. “ _No_ , but– this is supposed to be for confessions and stuff! D-didn’t you know that?!”

Yuugi hadn’t really been _talking_ to his other self at that point, when Honda bought the puzzle for a girl in their first year class. But still, he seemed perfectly conscious of so much else back then! Could… could he really not _get_ what the thing was for?

…For goodness sakes, he could _cook an egg on his face_ right then! How stupid must he look?!

His other self wasn’t even looking, though… He had started looking back at the skylight as soon as Yuugi asked, turning his whole back to him. In-in fact… he looked kind of hunched up to Yuugi’s eye.

But when he reached out to him through his heart, searching for why, or how the other felt, there was nothing there… the spirit was keeping his thoughts soundly to himself.

Or was it his _nerves_ to himself?

 _I thought you might like it. You gave me a note with my gift, after all, and solving a puzzle to read it seemed more exciting,_ the spirit finally explained, turning his head back to Yuugi with that _wall_ expression he knew so well set on his face. _And you gave me chocolates shaped like a puzzle…_

“That… that’s true,” Yuugi allowed, baffled to find that understanding only made him blush the harder. Because– what had he even been thinking?! Of _course_ the other him didn’t mean anything by the puzzle! That would be… jeez.

He shook his head at his own wild silliness, looked down, fidgeting with one of the scattered pieces. “Do you… want me to solve it now? With you here?”

_If you want to. I could go back to the Puzzle though, if you like._

Yuugi kept still for a long moment… then shook his head, never properly raising it to look at him.

The spirit remained silent in turn, but indeed, he stayed put… lingered just out of Yuugi’s periphery as he gathered the pieces and started to fit them together.

It was a simple puzzle. The fun was more in the idea of it than the challenge, after all, and soon Yuugi was confident that he would have it solved in under two minutes. Those two minutes seemed to drag _on_ , though, as Yuugi fought the urge to read the note early, and imagined the spirit staring at him, watching.

When he finally gave into the urge to peek, though, Yuugi discovered that he was wrong. His other self was staring at the game system on the bed, expression flat, gaze dull with his attention clearly caught elsewhere, on something in his own head. And even as the spirit kept his mind closed to him, Yuugi could feel it… the stinging static of frayed nerves, shocking to the touch, even through that wall.

It was unmistakable… the other Yuugi was nervous.

And the certainty of that cut through the tension in Yuugi’s own back and mind, leaving him settled, sympathetic… and free to look down and finish the puzzle without any reservations.

He pressed the last piece into place, sat back… and read the long, unsigned message the solved puzzle offered.

_It feels a little like cheating, giving you a thank you gift that will be as much fun for me as for you, but I wanted to pick something that we could share, and that I could watch you enjoy firsthand. I was shocked that you gave me chocolates in the first place, but I shouldn’t have been, because I understand. If you had asked me not long ago what my greatest blessing is, I would have easily said being freed by you, or getting to count you and everyone else as my friends. But now I have something just as precious that I have to treasure– every single day I get to spend with you. Thank you for being my friend, and my partner. For letting me share your life. For everything, because you are everything to me, and I just hope that you know that._

Yuugi stared… stared at that message, at _everything_ until the words began to blur, and he had to blink back the tears.

They didn’t fall. He didn’t let them, pinched his lips together until the impulse died back down enough to swallow, blink, _breathe_ without it overwhelming him.

There was no sound to indicate the rise, but one moment the other him was seated, the next Yuugi saw a transparent copy of his own pants and black-toed shoes there, standing on the other side of the puzzle.

_Aibou… are you alright?_

Yuugi bit his folded-in lips… waited for the tide to pull back in his heart… then looked up. Met the silent dread in his other half’s eyes with a wide, watery smile. “Amazing, _mou hitori no boku…_ I’m amazing.”

And he watched the tension slide visibly out of the other, his shoulders soften, crossed arms loosen, and features slacken into a quiet, but all too clear smile.

And that smile only settled into confident life as Yuugi stumbled on, shifting on his knees as he admitted, “And… I know. I… can hardly _believe_ it… but I know.”

And the spirit didn’t ask. Even though he _must_ have written that note _that night_ , three days ago, he understood. His eyes warmed over and he said, _Believe it_. Not a single pause or allowance of doubt in his voice.

And all Yuugi could do was nod, and stare at the solved message… his heart feeling like it was beating out of place or something. Too big, too swollen. It hurt… and he wouldn’t trade the odd sensation for anything.

There was an impulse there, in the back of his mind. A want to jump up. Stand up and throw himself at the spirit. Hug him, press that big heart feeling and his denied tears and _everything_ else into his arms. Bury them somewhere beneath his bones.

But the other Yuugi did not have bones. Or flesh. Or anything else for Yuugi to touch.

So, Yuugi settled for leaning over to grab one of the gifts from his bed.

He held up Super Mario World with a shy, heavy smile. “Play with me?”

The other Yuugi tilted his head just a bit, his eyes practically shining above a soft grin.

_I’d be happy to._

Some minutes later, Yuugi had the entire system hooked up, and the game running… and he finally managed to speak again, eyes set firmly on the start menu as he said, “Thank you.”

A sniff and a fond chuckle coaxed him into glancing to his left, and he watched as the spirit shook his head… and met his gaze with an easy, contented eye.

_Happy White Day, aibou._

Yuugi’s mouth curled in a smile before he was conscious of it, and he looked down at his controller before the other could see just how crazy wide it got… shaking his head to clear away the fizzy delight.

“Mario or Luigi, _mou hitori no boku_?”

He pushed START.

* * *

“So, what are we going to name our Tamagotchis?”

_Would U3 be appropriate?_

“Oh yeah! Aww, I’d like that… but what about yours? We shouldn’t just call it Other U3.”

_Well no, there was never an ‘Other U2’ for starters, was there?_

“Well, there _sort_ of was… Hmm, okay, what about Super U3?”

 _No. That implies that yours is_ **_not_ ** _the super one, aibou._

“Heh, well, _you_ pick a name then!”

_…Would U4 work?_

“Creative. …Hey, _mou hitori no boku_?”

_Yes?_

“How did you get your hands on one of those love letter puzzles, anyways?”

_Oh… is it not obvious? I bought it from Jii-chan before I gave you back the body._

“…You… bought it from _Jii-chan_.”

_Yes, that’s right. …Are you alright?_

“D-did you tell him _why_ you were buying it?”

_No, of course not._

“…… _Mou hitori no boku_ , he has been _teasing me_ and _winking at me_ and stuff since Wednesday.”

_Why would–_

“He thinks that _I_ bought that, and that I must have bought it for a girl!”

_O-oh._

“And he’s been mentioning Anzu-chan like crazy, too! I thought it was weird, but– _oh my god_!”

_T-that is–_

“And I can’t even tell him that– Oh, gosh, what am I supposed to– _Aah_!”

……… _I’m sorry, aibou_.

“……You’re lucky that note was so worth it.”

 _I’m… glad you think so._   

“Yeah… so, you want to help me invent a girlfriend to get him off my back?”

_I’m afraid I don’t know how to make one of those. And how would you even make it work without a girl, if you don’t want it to be Anzu?_

“A girl in my class who transfers to another city before he gets a chance to meet her. We try to make it work long distance, but she breaks up with me three weeks in. Very messy.”

_How sad._

“It’s fine. I’ll learn to love again.”

 _Yes… though really, if you were making it realistic, you should break up with_ **_her_** _._

“Why is that more realistic?”

_Why would anyone ever want to break up with you?_

“Pfft… funny.”

 _No._ **_True_** _._

“Yeah, well… thanks.”

_Of course._


End file.
